Woman plunged 8-inch knife into boyfriend’s chest during fit of rage

Woman plunged 8-inch knife into boyfriend’s chest during fit of rage

13 April 2022

A DOWNPATRICK woman stabbed her boyfriend in a fit of rage because she thought he was being unfaithful to her, a judge has heard.

Marian Fitzsimmons plunged a kitchen knife into the man’s chest at a house in Pegasus Walk, on September 12, 2020.

When police arrived they found Fitzsimmons’ sister administering first aid. Paramedics then worked on the man for 20 minutes before he was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

The ambulance was driven by a police officer because the paramedics continued to work on the 25 year-old victim on the way to hospital.

At Downpatrick Crown Court on Thursday Fitzsimmons (31), of Ballymote Walk, was given a combination order of 100 hours of community service and two years of probation.

Fitzsimons was initially charged with attempted murder, which was reduced to causing grievous bodily harm, which she admitted along with possession of an offensive weapon.

The court was told the couple had been drinking prior to the attack and they had a history of domestic violence.

Outlining the facts of the case, Judge Geoffrey Miller said that when the couple got into an argument Fitzsimmons went into the kitchen and pulled the knife from the drawer.

The judge said the knife was “clearly a lethal weapon” and was later found outside the house with the injured party’s blood on the eight-inch blade.

He referred to a pre-sentence report in which Fitzsimmons said she had suffered “physical and emotional abuse” during her four-year relationship with the injured party, but did not report any incidents to police out of fear.

The judge said Fitzsimmons had a history of drug and alcohol misuse and had been drinking on the day of the attack. He said the couple were no longer in a relationship.

Judge Miller said that while the custody threshold had been passed, there were a number of mitigating factors in the case, including Fitzsimmons’ guilty plea, her limited criminal record, her remorse and her engaging with counselling.

He said that while he was satisfied Fitzsimmons was not a “dangerous offender”, the use of a knife to cause injury was “abhorrent”.

He told Fitzsimmons: “You could so easily have killed the complainant. This was clearly a volatile relationship. There can be no justification for those actions.”

In addition to the combination order, Judge Miller ordered Fitzsimmons to participate in alcohol and drug management programmes and any other programmes deemed appropriate.